AMHERST, Mass. – The Amherst College women's volleyball team opened up the 2019 season with a convincing 3-0 victory over Smith College, defeating the Pioneers 25-12, 25-12, 25-9 on Friday evening at LeFrak Gymnasium.
Three Stars of the Match
- FIrst-year Ava Zollinger (Orlando, Fla./Lake Highland Prep) led the Pioneers offensively with five kills
- Classmate Evi Evgeniou (Thessaloniki, Greece/Pinewood International) totaled 13 assists, four digs and two blocks
- Skyleur Savage recorded a game-high 15 digs, nine of them in the third set, to lead Amherst defensively.
How it Happened
Sophie Launsbach (11-1-17) hit .588 to pace the offensive attack for Amherst, who hit .317 on the night and jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening set, eventually extending the lead to 17-5 with a 5-0 run served by Launsbach.
Smith used a kill by Kimani Freeman (Newark, N.J./Montclair Kimberly Academy) to snag their only lead of the night early on in the second set. Amherst surged back with a 9-2 run, then used another 5-0 spurt to open up a 23-9 advantage.
In the third set, Amherst hit .467, making just three errors and racking up 17 kills on their way to a 25-9 win. Launsbach record kills on all six of her swings in the third set, and Kolsky had five of her kills in the final frame.
Up Next
Smith returs to action tomorrow at Salve Regina at 12:00 p.m.
(Release Courtesy to Amherst Athletics Communications)
